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Nicole Fulmer and Shawn Henry are the proud parents of Chance Maurice Henry, who was born at 10:44 a.m. on Jan. 1 at the Meadville Medical Center in Meadville, making him one of the first babies born in northwestern Pennsylvania in 2013. Meadville residents Fulmer, 22, Henry, 24 and their son were photographed at the Medical Center on Jan. 1. CHRISTOPHER MILLETTE/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

Nicole Fulmer watched the ball drop at midnight at a friend's house in McKean.

A few minutes later her New Year's celebration shifted gears. She was headed to Meadville Medical Center, where she would deliver one of the area's first babies of 2013.

Chance Maurice Henry, who weighed 7 pounds and 14 ounces, was born New Year's Day at 10:44 a.m.

For Fulmer and her boyfriend, Shawn Henry, Chance was the baby they thought they might never see.

"He is our miracle," she said. "I have miscarried four babies. Out of the blue, God decided I was going to keep this one."

Sabrina Hess, all 5 pounds, 2 ounces of her, was the Erie area's first baby of the new year.

Sabrina, the daughter of Audrey and Peter Hess of North East, was born at 1:33 a.m. Tuesday in Saint Vincent Health Center.

Sabrina has four siblings, ages 8, 6, 4 and 2, all of whom visited her in the hospital Tuesday.

Peter Hess said his wife hadn't been due to deliver until Jan. 17.

"My wife has gone early before. There were some complications that she had to be induced," he said. "It was tougher than any of the others."

Hess said Tuesday night that his new daughter was in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. He described her condition as "nothing life-threatening at this point."

Erie's second baby of the new year also was born at Saint Vincent.

A baby girl was born at 4:33 p.m. to Andrea and Alex Moffett of Erie. The girl, who had not yet been named Tuesday night, weighed 9 pounds and 9 ounces.

Fulmer was due Jan. 4, but she wasn't too surprised when she delivered a bit early.

"My family, everyone was calling it," she said. "We had a weird feeling we would have a New Year's baby."

For a while, though, it looked like Chance might arrive early.

Fulmer said she went to the hospital late Monday morning, only to be sent home.

Hours later, she said, nature took its course.

"When the ball dropped, the baby dropped," she said. "When I got to the hospital, I progressed right on from there. It was all natural. They didn't give me any type of drugs to speed me along."

Babies have been associated with the new year since at least 600 B.C. in ancient Greece.

Fulmer, who said the hospital presented her and her baby a special blanket in honor of his birth, is happy to be a part of that lucky tradition.

She hinted, though, that the significance of her son's birth date is secondary to his safe arrival.

"It's been a really nerve-wracking time, but he is absolutely healthy and wonderful," she said.